


Theodore’s Nott fall and rise in love.

by MinervaHope



Series: Blood flowers [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Angst, Biphobia, Bisexual Theodore Nott, Dark Mark (Harry Potter), Eventual Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Friends to Lovers, Good Theodore Nott, Homophobic Language, Internalized Homophobia, Jealousy, M/M, Pining
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-30
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 20:54:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27792616
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MinervaHope/pseuds/MinervaHope
Summary: How Theo fell in love Draco and how he rose in love with Luna.This a companion piece to Blood Petals and Blood Daffodils. It can be read without reading the other ones, I will mention the events from the other fics here but from Theo’s point of view.I wanted to show you the evolution of Theo’s feelings for Draco before, during and after Blood Petals and therefore the evolution of his feelings for Luna too.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Theodore Nott, Luna Lovegood/Theodore Nott
Series: Blood flowers [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883086
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	1. First memories.

Theo’s memories of his mom where probably the most valuable thing he had. What they used to do together, how she talked, how she smiled, what she liked, what she didn’t like... How his father use to smile around her. In retrospective, Theodore couldn’t recall a single memory where his mother was spending time with another human being without making them laugh or smile. 

Amabelle Nott was that kind of woman that could light up a room with a smile and that you could listen to her talk for hours without getting bored. She got along with everyone but called friends only the ones worthy of the title; Narcissa Malfoy was one of them.

And that’s how Draco and Theo met: in diapers, as their mothers talked about life and drank tea, Theo and Draco would spend their afternoons together. 

It’s funny because when you’ve known someone your whole life, it’s hard to recall your first experiences with them, practically impossible. Theo couldn’t remember the first time he saw Draco because he was always there, he couldn’t even recall the first time that they had talked, or had a cookie, or played at the manor... But he had this one moment, something that he could go back to and, in his head, it was the first memory he had because whatever had happened before that he couldn’t remember it for the life of him. He remembered a four year-old Draco with an open book, sitting right next to him in those big green chairs that were at the library in Malfoy Manor; he pretended to read and Theo pretended to believe him as he did so, even though he knew that Draco couldn’t possibly know how to read yet (he had asked his mom and she had said that it wasn’t possible), and he didn’t exactly remembered what Draco was saying but,at some point, he turned around and confessed to Theo that reading books with him was his favorite thing in the world. 

Theo’s memories of Draco became their second most valuable thing in the world after that. (Obviously he didn’t know that then but with time he would realize this).

There were times where his memories overlapped. Amabelle’s and Draco’s moments in Theo’s head would sometimes be the same ones because they spent so much time with Narcissa at the Manor that it was inevitable. This became worse with the disease.

When Theo was eight, Amabelle was diagnosed with a weird disease that Healers couldn’t cure, the only thing they had told them was that it was terminal and that his mom wouldn’t have more than a few months. His father had became so desperate for some kind of solution that, against everything that Theo had been taught since he was born, they had taken Amabelle to see a muggle doctor. 

Apparently what his mum had was called leukemia. Blood cancer, they had said in more ‘simple terms’, Theo hadn’t even known what either Leukemia or Cancer meant and for the look that his father carried in his eyes, the man didn’t have a clue either. They offered treatments, saying they were expensive to say the least, and his father didn’t even blink as he signed all the paperwork to get it going. 

The only ones that knew about the disease, other than the three of them, were the Malfoys, simply because Amabelle was advised to keep her life as normal as possible and if she started the treatment she would look worse before she got any better(at least that was what the doctor had told them), so it was impossible to hide it.

Chemotherapy were this potions that the doctors put in his mom’s body to attack the bad things that were in her blood. The explanation was much more detailed, but at that age, Theo couldn’t understand much more than that. The thing about this potion was that it worked as a venom, it didn’t only attacked the bad things, it attacked the good things in her blood too, so that was why Amabelle looked sicker rather than healthier after starting the treatment. 

For the most part of it all, Amabelle carried the side effects like a proof of her courage and her will to live. Neither the bruises, the weight loss, nor the fatigue made her feel defeated. It was when her hair began to fall off that she felt somewhat annoyed and ashamed. His father had bought her the best of wigs but she had confessed to Theo that they made her feel ugly and they itched so she preferred to be more at home than before if that was okay with him (and of course he agreed). When Theo had told Draco that his visits would be shorter and not as often because of this reason, the blond boy just frowned and asked why didn’t she just take off the wig at the Manor too, to which Theo responded that she felt kind of weird to be the only one without hair, specially if they weren’t at home. The next time Theo had seen Draco, the boy was bald. 

For those who didn’t know, Draco used to had his hair like Lucius, long and very well kept. He wore it in a pony tail and he liked when Narcissa made him little braids with green ribbons... And he had shaved it all off for Amabelle to feel comfortable enough to bring Theo to the Manor as often as ever. Amabelle cried when she saw Draco, cried of happiness and between laughter, for she couldn’t believe that Draco was capable of doing something so utterly ridiculous just to keep things like they were. Narcissa hadn’t even have the heart to ground him even though Lucius threw a fit over it, claiming that he couldn’t take a bald child to any of the ministry’s functions. Giving him a hair potion wasn’t an option because he was still too young to consume them, so Draco just had to wait for it to grow back. 

It took about a year for his hair to have a considerable length again, even if it was still too short for what Draco was used to or even liked... The same amount of time that the Chemotherapy had bought them to enjoy Amabelle. 

By the age of ten, Theo was already alone with his father.

He still went to the Manor on saturdays, Narcissa still prepared the Jasmine Tea that his mother liked even if she drank it alone, and Draco used his hair short ever since.


	2. Princes and Princesses.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here’s another one! I hope you like it! Please leave your comment if you can, I want to know what you thought💕✨ 
> 
> Ps. I’ve checked but sorry if you find any errors in this one.

Draco and Theo got to know Vince, Greg and Pansy the same way that all the pureblood kids got to know each other: in fancy events. (By events Theo means the fancy birthdays where adults drank wine and children hid away waiting for the hours to pass by).

Theo didn’t exactly mind Vince and Greg. Yes, they ate a lot and had the attention span of a toddler at age of ten, but they were easy to talk to and they played exploding snap. And to be fair, Theo hadn’t mind Pansy at first. It was when she started to try to steal Draco away that he began to have a problem with her.

She came into the group with her pastel dresses and silky hair, carrying her make up and glitter to wherever she went and offering to paint Draco’s nails in secret because she knew that Lucius didn’t like it. (Theo always commented that it was a bad idea, he didn’t want for Draco to be grounded and he would be if the blond boy were to appear with his nails in turquoise.) 

Draco talked with Pansy things that he didn’t talk with Theodore. He knew this because Pansy always whispered stuff in his ear and made him giggle or blush and whenever Theo asked what they had talked about Draco just answered that it wasn’t anything important. He couldn’t exactly understand how, if it wasn’t important, he couldn’t just tell him and be done with it.

Pansy also started to invite Draco to her house a lot. And normally it wouldn’t be a problem but when Draco had started to cancel Saturdays to go to stupid Pansy’s house Theo just had to intervene. 

“Bring her here.” He said as he played with Draco’s pillow in his hands avoiding to look at him.

“What?”

“Bring her here and we can all hang out.” Draco showed him a big smile before rushing to the floo to call Pansy and tell her what Theo had said.

It wasn’t that bad. Pansy could keep up with them as they played cards or even if they went outside for a fly... So they continued to invite her, with the condition that Theo could come one day in the week to hang out with Draco alone. So Thursdays became the new Saturdays and Saturdays became Pansy’s day. 

It was a Thursday and Theodore was eating pancakes that Dobby had prepared for them when Draco said something that it made him nearly choke.

“What?”

“The Parkinsons presented the offer to father, mother came to tell me yesterday.” 

Theo felt like his brain wasn’t working properly.

“You are ten.” It was the only thing he had said because it was true. Marriage offers shouldn’t be made until both of the heirs were at least fifteen, Theo knew this, Theo had particular lessons of pureblood customs. And Draco should know this, Lucius should know this-

“It’s not really a proposal. I think they were discussing it for later, just in case.” Draco shrugged and sipped his hot chocolate. “Not that I want to, though. I like Pansy but girls are weird-“

Theo blinked.

“Weird?” He asked arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, they use skirts and they talk a lot.”

“You talk a lot, Draco” Theo responded without realizing that whatever he was saying Draco wasn’t taking it well.

“Okay.” The blond boy said with a low voice and an uncommon silence surrounded them. 

Theodore looked away. 

“Whatever, I like that you talk a lot. Quiet people are boring.” Draco frowned at that.

“Wouldn’t that mean you are boring?”

“I’m not quiet, doofus, I just talk less than you.”

Draco pursed his lips with a bored expression in response. 

“Mrs Pansy Malfoy”

Draco groaned and reached over to put a hand over his mouth but Theo dodged it and continued.

“Draco and Pansy sitting in a tree-“

“Theodore!!”

“First comes love, then comes marriage-“

Draco tried to cover his mouth once more but the brunette caught his hands and started to move them around to the beat of the song.

“Maybe she could be the princess in the White Horse Carriage!” He finished singing and the blond boy was looking at him with red puffy cheeks. “What? You don’t want to be her Prince?”

Draco narrowed his eyes for a moment before smirking (which was never good), Theo doubted for a moment, thought about moving away, but by the time he was attempting to the blond boy had taken his face into his hands and started to leave kisses in his cheeks and forehead.

“What are you doing? Draco, stop-“

“You look like a frog so I’m turning you into a Prince.” He replied before leaving a loudly kiss on his right cheek.

He felt his whole face burning. It felt weird. It felt like his stomach was doing stuff. He pushed Draco away and the doofus just kept on smiling like he had just won something.

“Such a nice Prince. Do you know how to kill spiders by any chance?” Draco asked in a very Dramatic and pompous tone.

“...Yes?” 

“Excellent, I hate those.” He replied like it was some kind of explanation. “I shall now declare us Prince” he said pointing to himself “and other Prince.”added pointing to Theo. “That way there’s no place for Princesses or marriage proposals.”

“Princes marry Princesses, Draco.”

“You are ruining the game, Theodore.”

So Theo stopped complaining and took the hand that Draco was offering.

“Come on, let’s built a fort with pillows. We need a fort if we’re going to be Princes.”

Theo just nodded and didn’t say anything. 

Draco did looked like a prince if he thought about it, with his shinny hair and sparkly robes... Not that it mattered, of course. Not to him at least.


	3. Of Gryffindors and Slytherins.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Here’s the third chapter! I hope you like it! Any comment, kudos and review are appreciated✨💕
> 
> Ps. I’ve checked but sorry if you find any errors in this one.

“And they didn’t like Severus?”

“No, darling, quite the opposite.”

“Why?” Draco demanded to know and Theo rolled his eyes.

“Let her tell the story, Draco!”

“I just want to know why-“

“As I was saying,” Narcissa interrupted her son. “James and Sirius were partners in crime, two terrors running around the castle. Sirius was the first Black in history to have ever been sorted into Gryffindor. He was really proud of that and mentioned it to Aunt Walburga everytime he got the chance.”

Draco made a disgusted face at that. 

“Ugh, who would want to be a Gryffindor?” Theo looked down for a bit and Narcissa must have noticed.

“Amabelle was a Gryffindor, Draco. And a remarkable one, if I may add.”

He saw Draco’s facial expressions go from disgusted to ashamed to sad in a matter of seconds. It always amazed Theo how expressive he was.

The brunette felt as Draco took his hand and Interwinded their fingers together. Theo’s eyes went automatically to Narcissa and held his breath. It wasn’t exactly wrong. Theo knew this. In theory he knew this. But his father had been quite insistent that he wasn’t a boy anymore, he shouldn’t be holding hands with Draco or letting him kiss his cheek or sharing a bed when they had sleepovers. Luckily for him, Narcissa didn’t even bat an eyelash, she just smiled softly as she heard Draco mumble an apology to Theodore.

“It’s okay.”

Draco looked unsure but nodded all the same and squeezed his hand. Theo knew he should let go now, he just didn’t want to.

“Sirius and James were brilliant wizards, they were probably the most talented wizards in the entire school, it was a shame that they used that talent to make pranks rather than to apply themselves in their classes.”

Theo smirked as he saw Draco’s eyes glint with anticipation.

“One of the most chaotic pranks was when they blew up the toilets in Moaning Myrtle’s bathroom. I don’t know if they were trying to actually blow up the toilets or they were doing experiments there but the second floor smelled horrible for an entire week.”

“What else, what else?”

“Well, they were a group. James and Sirius were the worst ones but Peter and Remus weren’t that far behind. Specially Remus Lupin, he was the brain in the operations.”

“The brain?” Theo asked arching an eyebrow.

“Yes. He would perfect the pranks for them in order for them to not get caught. He made charms for only a selected group of people and not the entire school-“

“Like Slytherins.” Draco ended up for her.

“Exactly, although I can not blame them, Dragon. Sirius was treated horribly by the same people he had called friends and family years before the sorting...”

“I’ve never met Cousin Sirius.”

“No, he’s in Azkaban now, like Aunt Bella.”

Theo frowned. Bellatrix had been in the losing side of the war and she had committed a lot of crimes, his father had told him but...Why was Sirius Black in jail for? 

“Why?” He asked.

Narcissa sighed and shifted in her sit.

“You can’t say anything about this, okay? There are things that-“

“We mustn’t tell father, not ever.” Draco repeated like a mantra and Narcissa nodded.

“He was accused of handing in the Potters to the Dark Lord-“

“What?” Theo had almost forgotten that he still had Draco’s hand in his until he felt it being squeezed again.

“And for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and other twelve muggles.”

“But wasn’t him the good one? Like Aunt Andromeda.” Draco asked.

“Yes, Draco, he was. He is. He was sent into Azkaban without a trial and I don’t have proof, but anyone with a working pair of eyes could have seen that Sirius would have never done this and much less hand in James to the Dark Lord.” As she said the last part a sad smile appeared in her face. “He didn’t do it. I know he didn’t, just- without proof there’s nothing that can be done.”

“That’s sad.” Draco stated and Narcissa snorted.

“Life usually is.”

———————————————-

It was bad enough that Draco had gone to get his school supplies without Theo. They were supposed to get ice-cream after. It was even worse that Theo ended up having ice-cream with literally everyone else (Pansy, Greg, Vince) and had to talk much more than he was used to because Draco wasn’t there. But the worst of all? The worst of all was spending his day listening to Draco yapping endlessly about some random kid he had met at the Madam Malkin’s.

“I think he was a Hufflepuff. I insulted Hufflepuff and after that it all backfired.”

“Why would you care about a Huffie anyways?”

“I don’t. He just seemed nice and he’s going to be in our same year... I wanted to make a good impression, is that bad?”

Theo was tempted to slam his face against the table to knock himself out and put an end to this ridiculous conversation. 

“He hated me. What if everyone hates me at Hogwarts-“ And the brunette interrupted him almost instantly.

“One: you already have a lot of friends. Two: you’re very you. Some people like that, some people just don’t. Stick to the people who like that and you’ll be fine, Draco. Stop whining.”

He saw him scrunch up his nose as he played with his sleeve, avoiding his eyes. 

“I just wanted to make a friend by myself.”

Theo didn’t know if he should feel insulted by hearing this. 

“Why? Because the rest of us don’t count?”

“What? No-”

“It’s what you’re saying. You’re saying that you wanted to make a friend by yourself. You think that my dad makes me come here and hang out with you or something?”

“Merlin. No, I was just-“

“Then why do you care about this stupid boy? You have Pansy, you have Greg, you have Vince and you have me. We’re your friends.”

Draco huffed in exasperation.

“I already  told you... He seemed nice.”

What did this nice  entail? Because given the story he didn’t act nice, he didn’t treat Draco nicely either... The only thing that came to Theodore’s mind, the only logic about Draco’s reaction was that the mystery hufflepunk actually looked nice.

“Well then, you can always look for him on the train and make amends-“

Draco’s face seemed to light up almost instantly. 

“That’s a great idea! I could offer him to sit with us!”

It wasn’t exactly Theodore’s point in all of this. He just wanted Draco to drop the subject entirely. And it had worked, after that, they went to the gardens to fly for a bit.

———————————————

The compartment door opened up again, Pansy and him raised their eyes to find a very pissed off Draco and two uncertain looking boys. 

“D-Draco, maybe you should calm down-“ Vince’s stuttered but Draco cut him short.

“Shut up! I’m fine!” But he didn’t sound fine at all, he sounded like all those times he was angry-sad. That’s how Theo called it, when he was trying to decided wether to cry or yell and ended up yelling between tears. 

“What happened?” Pansy asked and Draco groaned in response and moved forward to grab Theo’s hand and drag him outside the compartment. “Why are you taking him, Draco?? I asked you first!”

But the boy didn’t even reply and the brunette knew better than to oppose to him when he was like this. They found an empty compartment near the end of the train and once they were in Draco started to cry.

Theo blinked, he didn’t have a clue as to what had happened so he just waited and sat beside him. It didn’t take long until Draco spoke.

“I’ve met him.” His voice was weak.

“Harry Potter?” Theo asked unsure. He knew that Draco was excited to meet him, the both of them had grown up hearing different kinds of stories about him, why he hadn’t been seen since Halloween night.

But Draco shook his head. Then nodded. Then he groaned again. Theo chose to wait for him to make some kind of sense.

“He’s the boy from Madam Malkin’s.”

“Who?” Theo asked rather confused.

“Harry Potter. I met Harry Potter in the shop and didn’t even realize and today I was looking for Harry Potter and saw  him. I panicked, Theo. Wanted to invite him to our compartment but he was with the Weasley kid already and he laughed at my name when I introduced myself so I insulted him and Harry Potter didn’t even take my hand when I offered it! Which I don’t care, I just- He’s the boy from the shop.” The last part came out almost inaudible, Theo was only capable of hearing it because he was right next to him.

Theo looked at the window that showed the hallway to check if someone was looking. No one was even walking by so he took Draco’s hand and guided him to rest his head on his shoulder. It didn’t mean anything. Theo would love it if his father stopped saying that he should be careful with how he acted around Draco. Careful of what? Pansy took Draco’s hand constantly and no one said anything, it wasn’t fair. And it wasn’t as if Theo spent his time holding boys hands all the time. He d didn’t even want to hold Greg’s or Vince’s, they didn’t need him to either , Draco did. 

“Harry Potter the Hufflepuff.” Theo said, enunciating every word carefully and Draco barked out a watery laugh.

“Can you imagine? The Dark Lord would have been defeated by a Hufflepuff-“ 

“It makes you rethink life.” Theo added .

“It sure does.”

“What did he say to you to make you cry?” Because Draco didn’t normally cry. He cried when he felt really sad, mostly because of Lucius.

“He called me the wrong sort.”

“What?” He asked holding Draco’s hand even tighter.

“I may or may not have called Weasley the wrong sort first. And pointed out that he was poor. He was defending him.”

Theo couldn’t help but to laugh, it began as a soft chuckled and eventually it evolved to him crying of laughter, wholeheartedly and loudly. On top of that, Draco looked like a mad pixie with his cheeks all puffed out, demanding to know what was so damn funny. Theodore tried to compose himself to respond but failed in the process, he decided to talk in between the laughter instead.

“I- Just,- Only you would get offended that someone doesn’t want to be your friend after you insult them-“

“I didn’t insult him!!”

“You insulted his friend. It’s okay, Draco, you just don’t actually know how to be nice-“

“Oh like you are nice, Theodore! You spend your time making fun of everyone!”

When Draco got mad, Theo always fought to not make it any worse even though the blond’s expressions were utterly funny. 

He bit his lip to stop the amused smile that was appearing in his face and responded:

“Yes, but I don’t care whether people like me or not.”

Draco huffed, crossed his arms and snuggled closer to him. Theodore’s eyes went to the window again as a reflex but didn’t move away.

After a while Pansy came in and made them bought her candy as a retribution for being bad friends and leaving her alone with Vince and Greg for two hours.

—————————————

The hat barely had touched Draco’s head when it yelled ‘Slytherin!’ . Now Theo really was nervous for his sorting. He took a deep breath and waited for Professor McGonagall to say his name, after all, by alphabetical order it meant that his name was the next one.

“Nott, Theodore!”

He took a step forward and his eyes looked for Draco in the Slytherin table, the blond boy smiled at him brightly in return. 

The stool was a little higher than any stool a normal person would choose for a child to sit. Theo had to make an effort to sit and he fixed his eyes on the floor. He needed to be concentrated for this. He felt the hat the moment it touched his head.

”Well, well, well, aren’t you all anxious.”

‘Just put me in Slytherin’ he thought in response.

“Slytherin, huh? Your father certainly was one... But you seem so fond of your mother and the way she was and what a magnificent Gryffindor Amabelle Gouin was.”

Yes, he knew that. She had always talked to him about the tower and how red and golden it all was. Bright and filled with noisy people... But Draco was noisy too, he talked a lot and made sure that everyone looked at him whenever he entered a room. And if that kind of noisy wasn’t the kind of noisy that was up there in the Gryffindor tower, then he would much rather be in the dungeons with his friends.

‘Put me in Slytherin.’

”As you wish, luckily for you, you are as cunning as they come. Maybe a tad more brave than you are cunning-”

‘Shouldn’t you be announcing my House?’ He cut him short.

“SLYTHERIN!” The hat yelled and Theo felt like he could breath again. 

He got off the stool and run towards where Draco was, almost skipping with happiness.

He sat next to him, right in front of Greg and Vince and he let Draco hug him for a brief moment before pulling away. 

“A minute more and it would have counted as a hatstall! Where did it want to put you?”

Theo just shrugged.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m here. Now let’s hope that Pansy gets sorted into Hufflepuff.” He said wiggling his eyebrows evilly and gain himself a pinch on his right arm.

“She’s going to be with us, Pansy is such a Slytherin, not like you, you poser.” Draco replied sticking his tongue out.

He wasn’t lying, though; one second of doubt and he would have been in Gryffindor with the Weasleys. 

Of course Pansy ended up wearing green and silver. Harry Potter ended up being in Gryffindor rather than Hufflepuff like Draco and him had joked about (and Theo hadn’t missed how focused Draco was during his sorting). Millicent Bullstrode and Blaise Zabini ended up in Slytherin with them; he didn’t know who was the girl but he had indeed met Zabini a handful of times. They didn’t really talk or anything, the boy preferred to be left alone and Theo wasn’t about to try to change that, he could barely stand his actual friends,  
so...

The feast began and soon enough they were talking about which classes they were going to have and who would sit with who.

As they were standing in front of the dungeons door while the prefect gave his speech, Draco turned to Theodore and spoke in a low voice.

“Green suits you. I would say I’m sorry that you didn’t end up in Gryffindor like Amabelle but I’m really not.”

Theo snorted and looked away. The smile that was appearing in his face was a mere coincidence.


	4. First Year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Well, now the Years chapters will be separated in scenes. First year doesn’t have a lot of them but I hope you like them all the same. Please tell me what you thought in the comments!! 💕✨
> 
> Ps. I’ve checked but sorry if you find any errors on this one.

Living at Hogwarts was everything that Theo had heard from his parents stories and more. None of them had told him about the magic that surrounded the place, one would think that it should be like any magical home but no, it felt ancient. It felt like he could sense every single trace of magic that was left behind in the castle since the beginning of time. It felt happy. The castle emanated positive energy through the walls and Theo found himself constantly leaning into them because of that. He was fascinated. He spent his free periods just walking around the castle and around the grounds, right beside the border of the forbidden forest, just breathing there. 

Draco, on the other hand, spent his free periods searching for him around the castle only to yell at him for not doing his homework or to complain about Potter for the millionth time.

It was their first week there when Theodore saw Hagrid carrying a bucket full of raw meat and walking right into the forest. He felt intrigued instantly. Draco, who was also there, snapped his fingers right in front of his face making him blink.

“I’m talking to you” 

“Do you think there’s a beast in the Forest?” He asked ignoring the blond’s exasperated tone.

Draco followed his gaze only to set his eyes on him again but much more fiercely.

“Theodore, don’t.” He said but the brunette just walked pass him. “Theodore!”

“It could be Salazar’s...” He sang out and it didn’t take much longer until Draco was walking right beside him.

“If it eats me, there’s a box under my bed at the manor, don’t ask questions, just burn it.”

“I’m intrigued, if neither of us die you have to show me this mysterious box-“

“Never. I’m burning it as soon as I get home for Christmas, this is just a back up plan.”

They followed Hagrid, careful not to make any noise. The wind caressed the trees and the smell of the forest was quite distinctive... Theo couldn’t put his finger to what it was.

Hagrid stopped next to some creatures, they were ten at least, and started to throw the raw meat to them.

“They look like ugly horses, don’t they?” Theodore asked, peeking out from behind a tree, Draco looking right over his shoulder.

“I don’t see anything...” The blond boy replied and Theo frowned.

“What?”

“But the meat is... Oh-“ Draco stopped talking immediately and grabbed the brunette’s hand before starting to drag him towards the castle again.

“Hey, stop. What is it?“

“I just remembered we have Transfiguration homework-“ Theo shook his hand off his grip. They were now on the edge of the forest.

“Don’t lie.” His grey big round eyes were looking at him, troubled. “Draco.”

“It’s thestrals. They pull the carriages to the castle. You didn’t see them before because first years go on boat.”

Theo frowned.

“Why can’t you see them?”

And it was obvious that Draco didn’t want to answer at all. He always liked to say when he knew something, but for some reason this was not the case.

“Only people who’ve seen death can...”

Theo looked down. Right, his mom. Amabelle was with him when it happened. She had said that her head felt a little dizzy so she would close her eyes for a bit, Theo had thought for a while that she was just sleeping. That was until he tried to wake her up for her medication and she just didn’t. 

“Fine. Let’s go.” He said, passing right by him and walking towards the castle.

“Theo, we could talk if you want. Or we could go to the kitchens and ask for pancakes...”

“Why? I’m not sad that I can see them, it’s just the way it is.”

The blond nodded. He could see that Draco wanted to say something else but, even though Theo waited for it, it never came.

———————————

“I need you to be my second tonight”

Theo stopped writing just to look at him.

“Your second what?”

“My second!!” He replied with a high pitched and demanding tone. “I have a duel with Potter tonight at midnight and Weasley is his second. As my best and oldest friend you are morally obliged to be my second, if you say no I might just cry and I know you hate it when I do that-“

“Are you stupid?” He asked after rolling his eyes. “I’m actually asking you.”

“Of course not.”

“Then why would you challenge Potter into a duel? He killed the Dark Lord when he was a baby, doofus.”

Draco crossed his arms and puffed out his cheeks in annoyance. 

“He just- He thinks he’s so perfect, all good mannered and kind with everyone, and how good and natural at magic he is! I wanted to beat him! I’m good at magic too.”

Theo knew he wasn’t a particularly patient child. He guessed it would come in time, that he should just practice and try to be better at it, and someday he would be at least a little bit patient. But now, hearing Draco again, talking about Harry Potter again, seeing him upset again... Theo just thought that instead of being a patient good friend he could just make this stop all together.

“You shouldn’t go. Call Filch on them, that way they could get in trouble.”

Draco beamed at him, the way that it made his nose scrunch and his eyes tiny.

“You are a genius!!” He said and kissed him on his forehead, too fast for Theo to complain about Draco doing that in the middle of the common room, and then he ran to their bedroom saying he would tell Vince and Greg about this amazing plan.

Theo didn’t even hide the smug smile on his lips. 

“I saw what you did there.” Pansy stated from where she was sitting on the couch next to the fireplace. She was flipping the pages of her magazine not even bothering to look at him. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Sure you don’t.” She raised her eyes, arching an eyebrow at him. “But just so you know: it’s not going to work. If anything, it’s only going to make it worse.”

Theo rolled his eyes and went back to his homework. What did she know anyway? Pansy was stupid at least a fifteen percent of the time.  
—————————————

Theo found the box on his bed after classes with a note that said: 

For Difficult Day.

It was all neat in Draco’s stylish handwriting. Theo traced the letters with his index finger and his lips went upwards a little. 

Difficult Day was Draco’s way of calling Theo’s birthday. He didn’t like it since Amabelle had gotten sick, he refused to celebrate it (it was a stupid thing anyway, he hadn’t contributed to being born at all, he just appeared and his mom was the one who made all the work). But since he didn’t want to celebrate his birthday, Draco had came up with a new name only to be able to give him gifts at least.

He opened up the box and inside there was a blue scarf, some chocolate from Honeydukes, and a couple of letters from his friends. In the bottom of the box, though, there was a photograph. Theo took it with care and couldn’t help but smile.

Narcissa was smiling, holding a very bald Draco by the shoulders as he looked at Theo who kept poking his bald head in amusement. Amabelle was in the middle of it, beaming at the camera as she threw her wig in the air, looking beautiful and free. 

He turned the photo around and saw Draco’s handwriting again:

(3rd November 1988) 

Theo, 

This is the best picture that I have so I made you a copy. Happy difficult day.

Draco.

That night Theo asked Draco to have a sleepover like they did in the manor. He guessed that what his father didn’t know couldn’t hurt him.

—————————————

He found Draco at the Hospital Wing on Saturday. Theo had been looking for him because he was rather bored and he guessed that they could sneak to the quidditch pitch and fly a little now that the season was over.

He was absolutely annoyed by the fact that Draco was standing next to Potter’s bed, frowning as he saw him sleep.

“Draco.” He called him and the blond seemed to be startled before turning to him.

“Ehr- I-“ He stuttered before crossing his arms and rolling his eyes. “Can you believe that he practically killed a professor and he hasn’t been expelled? Who even does that?”

“And you came to...”

“... to see how ridiculous his admirers are. Obviously. Praising him for breaking rules and whatever else.” He snorted as he gestured to all the gifts surrounding Potter’s bed.

Theo raised his eyebrows unimpressed. 

“Wanna go flying?” 

Draco’s eyes stole a quick glance of Potter before starting to walk towards the door.

“Sure,” He replied. “Last one to get there is a Giant Squid!!” Said and started to run off.

“Hey! That’s cheating!” The brunette yelled trying to catch up with him.

Draco didn’t stop running though, and Theo kept on running after him, something that eventually became an habit.


	5. Second Year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi!! Here’s another chapter! Please let me know what you thought of it in the comments!! 
> 
> Ps. I’ve checked but sorry if you find errors in this one.

Dear Theo,

I’m writing to you because mother says that I should just ask you the things I want to know instead of practically torture her with questions. 

I imagine that you’re having a wonderful time in Italy. Is it nice there? I asked mother to take me by portkey for a day to visit you but she refused... So here I am, trapped in the manor with the stupid peacocks. My only hope of not dying out of boredom is you replying to this letter with your numerous adventures.

Draco.

Ps. Did you know that Gilderoy Lockhart is going to be our new DADA teacher? I hope Potter doesn’t kill this one, he practically wrote the whole book selection for this year’s curriculum.

Draco,

Let’s see, Italy is nice, yes. Dad and I are doing a lot of sightseeing (even in the muggle parts) and the people from the hotel are very friendly. I’m rather bored too, though. It would have been nice for you to come for a day or two... 

Millicent is here. I’m spending a lot of time with her when we’re back at the hotel. She looks different than when we finished first year, but I guess that’s normal, this are the years where puberty hits us like a train, specially girls. How’s Pansy by the way? I bet she still has a troll face. Can’t imagine puberty taking that away.

Regarding Lockhart: no, I had no idea. I’ve read a couple of interviews on the prophet and he doesn’t even seem smart... But, well, it’s not easy write a dozen of books so maybe he just has problems giving interviews.

Hope that you don’t die out of boredom before the term starts. Write to me if you need to, I obviously have time to answer.

Theo.

Theo,

I don’t know, Pansy seems like Pansy. Maybe she’s wearing more make-up now. The other day she was practicing a make-up look on me and I ended up looking like a raccoon. 

I’m glad you know someone there. I was under the impression that you didn’t like Millicent, though. And what do you mean by puberty hitting anyway? Last time I saw her she was about a head taller than us already. 

Father is taking me to Diagon Ally alone this year, Merlin knows why. Sorry but you’re going to be on your own with the rest of the doofuses.

Write soon,  
Draco.

Draco,

Don’t let Pansy put that crap on your face. You don’t need make-up because you don’t have a troll face like she does. (Although if there’s a photograph of this embarrassing situation I will like for it to be attached on the next letter).

By ‘hitting puberty’ I’m talking about the chubby face going away and the bra situation that girls go through. And I’m as tall as Millicent now. Maybe you’ll be the only dwarf this year.

Why is Lucius not letting you go with us? You already missed last year! Talk to Narcissa, maybe she can convince him. 

Theo.

Theodore,

Pansy started to use training bras if that’s what you wanted to know earlier. Her face is the same though, maybe she has a little more pronounced cheekbones.

I already asked Mother, what do you take me for? She said it was best to do as Father had asked before he decides to send me off to Durmstrag to avoid hearing my constant complains. 

And lastly: you’re impossible. Here’s a bloody photo of that day and I trust you not to show it to Millicent, otherwise our friendship would be cancelled immediately.

Can you come back already? It’s been ages.

Draco 

Theo smiled before looking in the envelope for the photograph.

Draco was smirking at the camera and Theo could see how his eyebrow raised in amusement as the picture was being taken. 

Raccoon wasn’t the word that came to his mind when he saw him. Draco had black eyeshadow around both of his silver eyes, it made them pop. His eyebrows looked groomed as well, made him have this fierce look...

Theo tried to put away the picture but he found himself looking at it again. And again. And again. It was probably because Draco didn’t look like Draco in the photo. He looked like a rockstar, and much more adult than just his twelve years old. Maybe fifteen. And as Theo looked at the picture, Draco smirked and raised an eyebrow about fifty times.

—————————————-

He was sitting by the lake with Pansy and Draco. The blond boy had his head on the girl’s lap while she brushed her finger through his hair. If Theo didn’t know better, he would have thought that they were dating or at least liked each other.

The Golden Trio walked right by them and Draco, as always, followed them with his eyes. For a very brief moment Theo saw Potter looking at them too. 

“Granger looks kinda cute this year.” 

It was fun to make those kind of comments because he knew they annoyed Draco. He didn’t know why but they did. The blond was looking at him sneering.

“You can’t be serious. Do you want your father to kill you?”

“Hey, I was just observing-“ He stopped when Pansy snorted loudly.

“Her skirt!” She ended with an amused expression, which only made the blond get more embarrassed with the situation, his cheeks were red.

“It’s okay, Draco. Someday you’ll observe girls skirts too.”

Suddenly, he saw Draco gathering his things and standing up, saying that he had to get started with the Charms essay that was due on Monday. Theo didn’t even have the time to ask if he could go with him.

—————————————

Theodore was hating second year. Besides the fact that Pansy actually thought that Draco or him were the Heirs and had opened up the Chamber (which was rather annoying) and spend her days reciting the Slytherin code of friendship to them like they didn’t know it (even though they did); Draco was acting more stupid than normal.

It wasn’t only that he talked about Potter, but now it was like he just had to talk to him at least once a day to fully function as a human being.

And the thing from that morning had been utterly ridiculous.

In theory, Theo knew he shouldn’t be arguing with Draco about this. It was going to end up biting him in the arse. Pansy had nicely told him to shut up when she had seen his expression as they walked towards their common room. Of course Theo couldn’t just do that.

“It just seems like you care an awful lot about stupid Weaselette’s crush-“

“Well, it’s stupid, isn’t it? Didn’t you hear her poem? ‘I wish he was mine he’s really divine’. Ugh, divine? Like Potter could be anything than just a straight up disaster!”

“Not what I meant, Draco.”

“Okay,” Pansy started. “How about we just calm-“

“What did you meant then? If you’re sooo intelligent.”

Pansy was looking at him, begging him with her eyes to not say anything. Theo couldn’t understand why, someone should let Draco know that if he kept acting like this people would start thinking that he was, like, in love  with stupid Potter-

And then he saw Draco again, cheeks red, arms crossed and utterly clueless of which way this conversation was going. He looked at Pansy again, she was shaking her head softly. 

Girls are weird.

He seemed nice.

Lockhart smiles a lot, doesn’t he?

Is green a normal color in eyes for muggles?

There he goes again, walking around the school like he owns it.

He’s so cheeky with teachers! How isn’t he expelled already! 

Scared, Potter?

He’s a parselmouth! Did you see? He should be in Slytherin!

Who would send Potter a Valentine anyway?

Theo blinked. 

“Nothing.”

“What?”

“Nothing, it was just stupid. It doesn’t matter-“ He started to walk towards the door. He had to get out.

“Theodore, are you all right?”

“What- Yes, Draco. Just leave me bloody alone for like one minute.” He replied, it seemed like it had come out too harsh because Draco was looking at him with widened eyes.

He didn’t have the time to try to apologize, though. He exited the common room and ran down the hallway, looking for a place where he could be alone. He sat on the floor and forced himself to breathe.

Draco liked boys. Draco liked boys the way that Theo liked girls. Draco liked Potter specifically. 

His father’s voice kept repeating in his head.

You shouldn’t sleep in the same bed as Draco.

Don’t hold hands with Draco.

Why are you writing so much to Draco?

Did he... Did he think that Draco liked Theo that way? Because he didn’t. And Theo didn’t like Draco that way either. Theo liked girls. Boys smelled, he couldn’t even imagine why would Draco like Harry Potter if his hair looked like a birds nest and he was as short and regular as boys could be. Maybe the eyes? But they were covered with those ridiculously gigantic round glasses. Maybe it would go away with time. That would be okay, Potter was stupid anyways.

Draco liked boys, though. And Theo wasn’t sure that that could go away with time.


	6. Third Year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I’m so happy to be able to post this chapter, hope you enjoy it as much as I did while writing it✨
> 
> Ps. I’ve checked but sorry if you find any errors.

When Theo got to see Draco again ,right before the summer ended, he felt like his brain had stopped working for a couple of seconds. Any logical though had gone right out the window and what was left was just Theo looking at Draco. 

His hair was different. It didn’t have the Sleekeazy that he usually used. It was a little shorter on the sides and now it looked all soft... His face was different too, not so different that Theo could not recognize him but it looked more manly than before, he could see the line of his jaw and his chin more pronounced than two months ago. He had rings, five of them, black and silver adorning his long fingers. He was wearing a dark green sweater with some skinny black trousers...

And when he came near him to say hello, Theo could smell the perfume that Pansy had bought him last year for his birthday. It was French, she always said that French perfume was the best perfume. To be honest, Theo didn’t have a clue about that, but now, smelling Draco, he could agree with her a little. It was a woody and sweet scent and Theo had this overwhelming urge to bury his nose in his neck. 

What the fuck, Theo.

“I’m as tall as you now.” Draco said smiling smugly and Theo felt like he was holding his breath in order to not blush like a little girl.

“You have a pimple there.” Is the only thing he thought of saying that wouldn’t make him sound like a fairy.

Because all the other options sounded terrible:

Your hair looks nice.

I like your rings.

Missed you over the summer.

Do you still like Harry bloody Potter?

“Oh for Salazar-“ He mumbled before covering up his chin. “Pansy said she had covered it!”

“Well, she lied to you because she’s a troll.”

Draco pulled a face and gestured to follow him outside, leaving the rest of the Slytherins talking in Pansy’s living room. This time Zabini and Millicent had joined them, it was Pansy’s birthday Party and she had pointed out how stupid it would be not to invite them when they saw them in every class. (And she was kind of right).

When they got to the garden, they sat on the bench right by the roses.

“Did you hear about my cousin?”

“Who didn’t, Draco? Even the muggles have been warned.”

Draco looked up and his lips formed a fine line. 

“I want to tell Potter that he’s innocent.”

Of-fucking-course.

“No.”

“What? Why-“

“Because you don’t know that. Narcissa thinks she’s sure but there’s no proof of that; and just in case I would advise that you don’t spent the next year trying to help your cousin on the run. You know, in case he really is a mass murderer.”

He could see how disappointed Draco was of him. Because of course he was expecting Theo to be on board with this suicidal plan just because they had heard stories of Sirius and James.

“I’m not saying you’re wrong, you know? I’m just saying that I don’t know if telling parentless Potter about how his godfather was falsely accused and shipped off to Azkaban, when you don’t actually know whether that’s true or not, is the best idea.”

“Yeah... Maybe you’re right.”

“Of course I am. I’m always right.” He replied and Draco snorted before looking at him, something like amusement glittering in his eyes.

—————————————-

He kept looking at Draco. He wasn’t sure why but it was like he couldn’t focus on his face, just parts of it... His nose, his cheekbones, his eyes-

“You know what we should do?” His voice sounded much more soft than usual and Theo felt like his skin was tickling all over. He tried to reach over to him but he couldn’t move. 

“What?” He asked.

And suddenly his eyes couldn’t stop focusing on his lips. Why? And why couldn’t he move away or reach over? 

Draco started to get closer and Theo felt like his heart was frozen, not working. He tried to move again and he felt like the floor had disappeared under him and he was falling-

Theo jolted and opened his eyes. He was gripping the bed like he was trying to get a hold of it before falling. It was a dream. It was a dream and what the fuck was that.

He took a deep breath and rested his head on the pillow again. His heart was still beating fast, agitated from waking up abruptly. 

Suddenly the curtains of his bed were being opened and Draco jumped on the bed to sit right beside him. 

“What the hell-“

“First Hogsmade weekend, Theo darling!”

He hid his face under the pillow to avoid Draco seeing what he knew it was about to happen to his face, that stupid blush he couldn’t control. 

There was something utterly wrong with him. 

“Don’t call me that.”

Darling was reserved for Pansy. Pansy was a girl. Or maybe someday Draco could use it on whatever boy he would date. But male friends didn’t call each other darling. 

He felt as Draco got off the bed and heard him sigh.

“Just get dress, arsehole. Everyone is at the Great Hall already.”

——————————————

“You what?” Pansy asked with her eyes widened and her jaw hanging open.

It was nice, to be like this again. He had called Draco and Pansy to tell them. Since Draco had that stupid Herbology project with Zabini he had barely seen him, and Pansy of course went everywhere Draco went. Now it was them three again, at least for this afternoon. After that, he would probably get back to hanging out with Vince and Greg.

“I snogged Millicent after classes yesterday.”

“How?” Was Draco’s first question and Theo couldn’t resist to annoy him.

“You put your lips on the other lips and then you open up your mouth, there’s tongue involved-“

“Ugh!” He pulled a face and stomped his feet on the floor repeatedly. “I’ll have nightmares tonight.”

“Oh, stop it, Darling! This is huge!” Pansy said. “So?? How was it?”

“I liked it, and I like her too.”

And Theo found that he wasn’t lying in the least. He liked Millicent, she was tall and strong and passionate about things she liked... And the kiss was rather awkward because none of them knew what to do but in the end it felt nice. He liked it. He would do it again given the chance and he could imagine, with time, doing more than just kissing with her. 

So why did he feel like he was broken or something? He liked girls. If this wasn’t proof enough of that he couldn’t imagine what would it be. Just... There were sometimes where he found himself looking at boys too; his heart would start racing, ‘Am I a fairy now? A bloody shirt-lifter?’; and then he would see Hanna Abbot walk by with the tiniest skirt in their entire year and he would breath again because there was no way that he was gay if he was noticing girls and having fantasies with girls.

Draco was a problem though. He knew he was. He was a problem because Theo kept looking at him. Much more than Diggory and clearly much more than stupid Zabini and his flamboyant self. And he kept expecting reactions out of him. All the time. He kept expecting for him to climb up to his bed in the night to cuddle with him like they tend to do on Difficult Day or whenever Draco or Theo were upset... And if you asked Theo, that seemed like a really fucking gay thing to wish for.

So Theo had decided that he was broken. That he was this freak of nature that looked at girls and boys in that way. But since it was mostly girls he thought that it could only be the hormones and that it would go away. With time. He just needed to keep Draco at arm’s length for a while (which wasn’t exactly hard since now Draco spent his days with Zabini).

—————————————

They were being moved to have what Theo couldn’t help but to call a ‘masive sleepover’ at the Great Hall. 

Pansy moved through the sea of students, practically kicking a couple of Ravenclaws that had tried to take away the corner that she already had her eyes on, with Greg and Vince by her side to send the message that: yes, Slytherins were keeping that spot.  
(The funny thing was that Theo knew that she had chosen the corner that was far from the entrance and not next to the Hufflepuff like the opposite side of the room.)

Time passed, and when they ordered everyone to go to sleep, Theo only had closed his eyes for about fifteen minutes when he felt someone shaking him. He cracked one eye open and saw Draco looking at him.

“Sleep.” He said, looking around to check if Severus was about to come out of nowhere and obviously blame Theo for distracting Draco. Like the blond was such a saint.

“They left. Heard McGonagall say they were going to search the castle.”

“And why did you wake me up for?”

“If he’s around maybe we can find him-“

“Draco, no.”

“You’re so boring-“

He shouldn’t have taken it so personal. He really shouldn’t.

“Wake up Zabini then! I’m sure him and stupid Pansy will agree to go with you-“

“Why are you mad right now?” He asked confused and Theo couldn’t stop the words from coming out.

“Oh, I’m not mad, I’m just thinking about what the male version of Bros before hoes would be-“

“Who would be the Hoe in this situation? Pansy?”

“Fucking Zabini, Draco! Don’t act stupid.“ He hissed back at him trying to lower his voice.

Even in the dark he could see Draco’s cheeks coloring. Perfect. Maybe Draco had gotten over Potter just to change his stupid infatuation to Blaise Zabini.

“I- I don’t know what you’re talking about-“ 

“Please, he came in with his smile and fancy scarves and now you spend all your free time staring at his-“

“Lower your voice!”

“What? Scared that everyone is going to find out that Draco Malfoy is a poofter-“

Theo felt Draco’s hand against his cheek so fast that it cut him short. His skin was itching and burning as he stared at the boy with disbelief. Draco’s eyes looked watery, his mouth was trembling as he clenched his jaw to compose himself. 

Theo wanted to apologize, he knew he should, but his pride was worth more than that. He just held his gaze back, waiting.

Eventually Draco just stood up and and asked Vince to change places with him. 

Theo didn’t sleep that night. He kept fighting the urge to get up and walk to where he was. And the next day, when everyone woke up, Draco didn’t even say hello, he just told Pansy and Zabini that he wanted to have breakfast in the kitchens with them.

—————————————

Theo wanted to say that he became used to not having Draco around. He wanted to say that because the alternative was just too damn depressing. 

It was May already. So far the only words that Draco had said to him during this past few months were:

Hello.

Are you showering first?

Can you move, Theodore?

No.

Not interested.

Do you have my blue sweater? I need it.

And Theo really wanted to not care but he couldn’t.

It wasn’t as he hadn’t tried to talk to Draco in different occasions.It wasn’t like he hadn’t apologized about ten times already. He bought him stuff every single Hogsmade weekend and left it on his bed, expecting that at some point Draco would sneak into his bed and at least talk to him...

Pansy asked him to stop around March. She had said that Draco was right and that Theo could be a shitty person all he wanted but he needed to leave Draco alone.

What did she know anyways? Draco was Draco and Theo was Theo. They were Theo and Draco. He refused to think that all that just went to hell because Theo called Draco one name. Theo called himself that whenever he thought about gay stuff. He couldn’t see the fucking problem to be honest. 

Not that he was going to admit to Draco that he had that kind of thoughts on occasion. Theo didn’t want to be Zabini in Draco’s life, that was Zabini’s job. Theo just wanted to keep being Theo in Draco’s life if that made any sense.

When Charms ended, Theo rushed towards the door, knowing very well that he wouldn’t get Draco alone otherwise (Zabini and Pansy didn’t take Divination so this was his chance).

He found him walking rather calmly towards the tower, probably because they had about half an hour between classes, and Draco usually used it to revise something or finish an assignment. 

Theo took a deep breath before approaching him, his heart was beating fast and Theo would really like to have a logic explanation for that but he didn’t have one. He took a couple of steps forward and soon enough he was in front of Draco, blocking his path.

“I’m late for class.” He stated with a bored expression.

“That’s a lie, I have Divination too, Draco.”

“Yeah, well, just trying to be polite.” He replied as he walked pass Theo. 

“Why the rush? Don’t worry, Potter is still going to be there when you get there-“ He really should learn to shut his mouth. 

Draco turned around, livid. 

“What do you want? To out me? You can’t, you know, I already told my parents over Easter break.”

Theo just blinked.

“And guess what? They don’t care. Not even my Father, who I imagined was going to have about a hundred reasons to call me a disgrace,” He crossed his arms and snorted. “ No, they just said that I needed to get married and have a Heir anyways (which I was already aware of) and that I could do with my private life as I pleased! It’s unbelievable that I got that response from them and from you-“ His voice failed and he turned around to walk away again. 

And Theo ran after him.

“Wait! For Salazar Draco, it was a bloody joke-“

“It’s not a joke! You say it in a mean way. Don’t you dare tell me you don’t because I’ve heard you make jokes my entire life, Theodore.”

“... Fine.” 

Draco stopped, frozen in place and looked at him.

“What?”

“You’re right. It was mean... And I’m sorry.”

The blond boy narrowed his eyes.

“Where’s the gift?”

“No gift this time. Just me, apologizing.”

Any other person would have ended the conversation there and accepted it but not Draco. Draco was special like that.

“What are you apologizing for?” Theo stared at him. “Come on, what was it.”

“... Because I’m a shitty friend...”

Draco raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips.

“Go on.”

“Because you’re still you and I was an arse.”

And suddenly Draco was smiling at him again and Theo felt like his heart jumped inside his chest. 

It happened too fast for Theo to complain. Draco hugged him tightly and his perfume was all that Theo could smell-

“I know you’re going to keep on saying stuff like that,” Theo frowned. “Just expect for me to call you on your bullshit when you do.”

He buried his nose on Draco’s shoulder and hugged him back, forgetting that they were actually in the middle of the hallway and anyone could see.

“... That’s fair.”

“Are you disgusted by me...?” Draco asked in a very soft voice. “Blaise says that if you are you’re not worth my patience.”

Theo was debating himself if he should remove himself from Draco’s arms just to hunt Zabini and hex him for making the blond boy think that Theo wouldn’t want to be near Draco. He wasn’t disgusted, he was so far away from disgusted that it was scaring him.

“No. Maybe your taste in boys disgusts me but that’s beyond the point-“

“Theo.”

“I missed you.” He said, feeling so vulnerable that he could die right there from how embarrassed he was.

“I missed you too.” Draco answers easily before planting a kiss on his right cheek and putting space between them to start to walk to class again. “You’re not coming?”

“You go, I’ll be right there.”

Fucking hell his heart was beating like crazy. Theo was going to die and it was going to be Draco’s fault.

Almost seven months without really talking to each other and these stupid weird annoying feelings hadn’t gone away. It was probably not even allowed for Theo to feel like this whenever Draco was near and for him to still be able to snog Millicent and enjoy it. Zabini wasn’t like this, Draco wasn’t like this... No, Theo was the only freak of nature. There wasn’t even a word for it, not that Theo knew about. Although he couldn’t be sure... He wished there was a word for it, that would mean that he wasn’t the only one feeling like this.

He was sure about one thing, though. At that moment, with his cheek burning up from Draco’s kiss and the ghost of his perfume in the air, Theo was sure that he had feelings for Draco.

Theo liked Draco.

Theo wanted to kiss Draco.

Theo was so bloody screwed.

———————————————

Draco hissed in pain as Theo put the ice, that the Elves had gave them in the kitchen, over his nose. He bit his lower lip to stop himself from laughing.

“Don’t look so smug, you twat.”

Theo moved the ice a little to the side as he saw that Draco’s white skin was getting pink from the cold.

“You kind of deserved it.”

“Excuse me?”

“Well you did. I would’ve done the same in Granger’s place. She was just standing up for people she cares about, you can hardly blame her.” Draco pursed his lips and looked at him, somewhat annoyed. 

“You’re a horrible friend, you should hate her and be on my side, Theodore.” 

The brunette chuckled softly and continued to care for the other boys nose. 

“I don’t think it’s broken, but you should go to the hospital wing to be sure.”

“Yeah, no. I’m not setting a foot there.”

“Why?”

“Because I’m not telling people that a girl punched me in the face!”

Theo barked out a laugh.

“Don’t tell Pansy that you’re embarrassed by that or she might just show you one of her troll-like-punches.”

Draco laughed too and told him that he was probably right. 

This was nice. It wasn’t like before because now it was Draco, Pansy and Zabini, best friends forever, the Slytherin Trio... Theo had become just Theo. They hang out sometimes and after all those months without even talking to each other it was more than enough for him. 

Of course there was the matter of Theo’s stupid feelings for Draco but he guessed that he could just ignore them for now. How much worse could it be anyways? At least now he could share a couple of moments with Draco. (Heart beating, stomach flipping, head dizzy feeling he got when Draco smiled a little too brightly, aside.)


End file.
